ITU Connecting Humanity Action Blueprint Advancing Sustainable, Affordable and Innovative Solutions

On September 1, 2025, the ITU published its Connecting Humanity Action Blueprint for Advancing Sustainable, Affordable and Innovative Solutions, which Vernonburg Group authored in partnership with the ITU and various experts from the broadband stakeholder community. This report is a landmark publication and lays out a path for achieving the ITU’s goal of universal, meaningful connectivity worldwide by 2030.

The Connecting Humanity Action Blueprint is divided into two parts.

Part I presents the most up-to-date overview of the global digital divide and estimates costs associated with achieving the 2030 aspirational targets, moving the world toward universal, meaningful Internet connectivity. Building on the methodology developed in the Connecting Humanity 2020 report, this report evaluates the global digital divide in terms of digital infrastructure gaps; policy and regulatory gaps; affordability gaps; and the digital skills gap. The report develops a methodology to assess each gap and estimate the overall cost. The estimated cost to achieve universal, meaningful Internet connectivity through 2030 is USD $2.6 to $2.8 trillion at current prices.

Part II of the report outlines a series of targeted efforts that, if sustained and undertaken by all stakeholders, can overcome persistent barriers and close existing gaps to achieve universal, meaningful Internet connectivity. This part of the report includes case studies, suggested strategies, potential projects and monitoring and assessment mechanisms that will facilitate rapid progress on the digital divide at a global scale.

The bottom line: the ITU’s goal of universal meaningful connectivity by 2030 is achievable but will take financial resources, collaboration, learning from the successes and failures of existing approaches, and innovating new approaches, technologies, and strategies for overcoming the barriers that have historically left certain people and communities behind.

Learn more by downloading the report below. If you are interested in learning more about the estimates developed for this report, the projects and case studies it highlights, or to discuss ways that your organization could drive progress towards universal, meaningful Internet connectivity, contact us.